It is with great sadness that I must tell you of my mother’s recent passing. Her sudden death from homelessness has hit me particularly hard as it comes less than two years after the passing of my beloved dad, Allen. Mom was a fantastic, loving mother and friend who went above and beyond for the people she loved. Despite great challenges, she brought me up as best she could while masking from others the great difficulties she was experiencing. My mom was a warrior and raised me to be one, too, above all, to be strong and work hard to achieve me goals. I am trying not to let the reality of being only 17 and losing both my parents devastate me, so I’m channeling my energy into my EMT intern work at the fire department, finishing high school, and applying for college. The positive lesson that I’ve learned losing both parents is that you treat the ones you hold close with love and compassion. Unfortunately, no one from my mom’s family has come forward to help with the funeral expenses and am struggling to find funding through foster care to support me, so this is something I will need to attend to myself. Your contribution of any amount would help greatly in taking care of the funeral expenses without me sacrificing my educational goals.